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Lebanon Rescue Mission cuts ties with Operation Santa

John Latimer, johnlatimer@ldnews.com
Published 5:41 p.m. ET May 10, 2016

Future of the charitable gift-giving program is in doubt

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An army of volunteers is needed to help organize and distribute toys, food and clothing from Operation Santa. This year, Operation Santa helped 1,892 people.(Photo: Michael K. Dakota, Lebanon Daily)Buy Photo

Operation Santa, a holiday gift-giving charity started by the Lebanon Daily News, may have seen its final Christmas.

But a new opportunity for the organization that helped the newspaper administer the program will ensure that the spirit of Christmas endures.

The Lebanon Rescue Mission, which had managed Operation Santa for the past 12 years, has decided to end its relationship with the program so that it can put its resources behind a holiday program for area seniors, said executive director Susan Spahr.

Called Agape Christmas, the program will provide useful gifts and groceries to area seniors, and serve them with a communal meal during the holiday season.

There are several reasons for the change in focus, said Spahr, including the fact that other programs exist which fill the same need as Operation Santa. Although she did not name them, the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program and the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots would be two popular local Christmas programs serving needy families.

A change in course has been discussed by the mission’s board of directors for the past couple of years.

"We started just saying if we had a program as a gospel rescue mission, something that would meet our overall mission, which is to share the gospel with the community, what would it look like?" Spahr said.

Their prayers were answered when Cynthia Smith, the director of the mission's Agape Family Shelter, who also organized Operation Santa, hit on the idea of supporting the area's elderly, Spahr said. This year, the program will be limited to seniors in the City of Lebanon who live in about 425 units managed by the Lebanon Housing Authority and Community Homes, she said. But the goal is to extend it to others in the county.

"There are so many seniors in our senior residences that may not have family," Spahr said. "Christmas can be a lonely time, whatever your age. We want to let them know they are remembered, they are loved and we really want to honor them at this time of year."

“We haven’t made any final decision yet, but I don’t think Operation Santa as the community knows it will continue.”

Lebanon Daily News general manager, Scott Downs

The Daily News learned of the Lebanon Rescue Mission's decision in early January, said general manager Scott Downs.

"I would just like to thank Susan (Spahr) as well as Cynthia Smith and the Rescue Mission itself for doing such a fine job and being a tremendous partner for so many years," he said. "Through their efforts, frankly, Operation Santa had the opportunity to have a positive impact on thousands of lives."

Originally called Operation Santa Claus, the program was established in 1983 and initially run by Daily News employees out of the newspaper’s office at Eighth and Poplar streets. Over the decades, it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars that were used to purchase toys, clothing and food for thousands of needy local families.

The Lebanon corps of the Salvation Army stepped in to help manage the program in 1985 and continued to operate it until 2004 when the Lebanon Rescue Mission took over. That change returned management of Operation Santa to Smith and her husband Chris, who had run the program for six years as captains of the Salvation Army before resigning to take leadership positions with the Rescue Mission and its affiliated women’s program, the Agape Family Shelter.

Since then, Smith has been at the helm of the Operation Santa, organizing the sign up in early October, purchasing the gifts and then distributing them with help from an army of volunteers several days before Christmas.

Several organizations, including Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church and, in more recent years, the National Guard Readiness Center in South Lebanon Township, have played a critical part in the success of Operation Santa by providing storage space and volunteers.

In its role, the Daily News served to promote and raise funds for the program by publishing daily articles telling the stories of participating families. The articles, which also included the names and amount given by donors, traditionally started on Thanksgiving Day and concluded with a story on Christmas Day announcing the total amount of funds raised.

In its first year, more than $41,000 was raised for the program. Although it fell about $5,000 short of its $42,000 fundraising goal this year, community support for the program has been consistent enough to benefit 500 or more families in each year of its existence.

What the future holds for Operation Santa is uncertain, Downs said.

"When it came about, we were a much larger organization," he said. "We just had a larger infrastructure so that we could be more supportive of the program from an internal standpoint. As that’s changed, I don’t know that we have the infrastructure and personnel to support that type of an initiative. We haven’t made any final decision yet, but I don’t think Operation Santa as the community knows it will continue."

The newspaper will, however, continue to support a charitable holiday program, Downs said.

"The Lebanon Daily News is committed to serving our community in many ways, shapes and forms. And we are planning, if in fact we don’t do Operation Santa, we are planning to do some type of holiday initiative to benefit local individuals in need," he said.